We’ll pay £80-100million for him and we’ll coach him into Fred’s level
Declan Rice
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Zakaria, Brozovic, Kessie and Tchouameni are all available from January and would be much cheaper than Rice.
At 21 he looked much better than at 20. At 22 he looks much better than at 21. Is that form or development?
Probably also help playing for a better team that to a bigger degree play football. His team completion rate (passing) has gone from 76 % in 19/20, 78 % in 20/21 and 81 % this season.
And not kind of them are as good, especially your first suggestion. Jesus, people still going on about him?
Some of them aren’t the same type of midfielder either
Bit of both I think. He was really criticised in the summer for England, people calling him all sorts. He must have been reading because he came out and said he would take more risks and show people that he’s capable of so much more. Which I said at the time, don’t judge him on how Southgate uses him as it’s a limited scope.
the price tag is too high but he is a quality player who will get better and better at a bigger side
He'd be worth every penny at this point. Marvelous footballer and top class defensive midfielder. Regardless of who ends up as our manager he really ought to be a priority signing.
I think Roy even said he is better than he himself was at that age - which is high praise coming from the man.
I think Roy even said he is better than he himself was at that age - which is high praise coming from the man.
I don't see any sort of tactical analysis regarding his game. Whenever West Ham have a great run of form or a big result, suddenly he becomes a 100 million midfielder. I saw the Liverpool game but his performance didn't stand out at such a level for me to take special notice.
Never really saw the fuss but as you see the very basics that are missing in our midfield currently-
-strong and press resistant on the ball
-positional sense out of possession
-mobile, fast and capable of closing down quickly
-comfortable travelling with the ball when necessary
-will make progressive passes where necessary
-most of all...takes responsibility and wants the ball when his team are in trouble.
The qualities would be like water in a drought for our team. He is not €70 million player for other teams due to the competence of their respective midfields...unfortunately he is every bit a €70 million player for us...
-strong and press resistant on the ball
-positional sense out of possession
-mobile, fast and capable of closing down quickly
-comfortable travelling with the ball when necessary
-will make progressive passes where necessary
-most of all...takes responsibility and wants the ball when his team are in trouble.
The qualities would be like water in a drought for our team. He is not €70 million player for other teams due to the competence of their respective midfields...unfortunately he is every bit a €70 million player for us...
It can comfortably be both. He is performing comfortably better than he did in the Euros. I doubt in a few months he suddenly took leaps in development
True. At the same time, the performance for England during the Euros was comfortable worse than for West Ham the entire last season.
I’ve seen quite a few great english midfielders look average to poor for England the past few decades. Not sure if it matters that much.
I’d pay no attention to England form in his case as Southgate has him doing one simple job
he will drown under the price tag expeically if United don't turn up. People are already on Grealish neck and City near the top. At United its far worse as we have so much media presence. If he doesn't transform us then he'll get dissed. The only saving grace is that he is white and British/Irish so he'll get a bit of leniency but they will expect him to score goals and create because "you don't spend 100m unless he wins you games" ala Sourness.
this
see below and my response
about 2 players who cost 100m have ever been worth the money. The rest considered flops and a bad investment. I could argue zero because Neymar always injured and Mbappe has only continued what Zlatan did with no additional success. truthfully its zero. in terms of 80mill plus. Ronaldo to Real, Gareth Bale kind of (injured a bit much) and thats kind of it. Clubs won't learn though. For 100mill he will have to basically drive our midfield like Roy Keane, Robson and Gerrard. You can't just sit, make tackles and the occasional long pass. The expectation will be to affect games in all areas, tackle like Keane, carry like Vieira, shoot like Gerrard and pass like Scholes. Media will be making Keane comparisons and expecting the complete midfielder. He could well drown under the pressure.
fair play to the lad
I don't think it will be that extreme and what other positions would be need that 60m could not solve?
Its on stats and in game actions e.g. number of tackles. long passing accuracy, pass completion, interceptions, tackles won. kinda the same way they assed Pogba's performances before and during his United stint
I’m presuming 30m of the 100m valuation is because he is English.
They also play very differently to West Ham and are expected to be on the ball a lot more often.
That's what worries me. It's easier to stand out as a defensive midfielder in a counter attack team that sits deep with little space around them.
Don't get me wrong he seems to have improved this summer, his passing is pretty solid and consistent if not quite safe - I just worry that he'd end up being another Schneiderlin.
Will he be able to be at his best playing out of that defensive shape Moyes has drilled so well at WHA? i'm not yet convinced.
He’s only 22!!
So we're gonna sign him and find out when he gets here whether he can play well in a team that passes out from the back? Let's just wait for Xavi to show a preference for Barca youngsters and spend all this money on De Jong instead.
Personally I think xavi will love De Jong
if we do sign him I just hope for his sake its not a British record
In hindsight, Rice probably should have been the priority in the summer. I know there were some doubts about his level but not signing anyone in this area looks like a big oversight.
He would be a good character to have in the squad too. Seems to be hungry but also gets along with everyone.
He would be a good character to have in the squad too. Seems to be hungry but also gets along with everyone.
But they are better than Fred or Matic now. Would have my sister play before these 2.
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You pay 80-100m for someone like Veratti or Kimmich, not Declan Rice
We paid 80 mil for Maguire, of course we’d pay that for Rice. We paid over 70 mil for a guy who can’t get a start so we 100. % would pay a fee in this range for our position in the most need of strengthening.
And how has vastly overpaying in the market typically worked out for us?
I’m not debating whether we should or shouldn’t pay that fee. What I’m saying is that sort of money isn’t an unrealistic amount for Rice and if (when) he does leave I’m sure he’ll join his new club for a fee in that range.
We are just after paying £73 million for Jadon Sancho ?
You can’t expect Veratti for 80m when you go and pay 50m for Fred can you?
Rightful heir to Schneiderlin's throne 
If United don’t find a deal for him, Chelsea will
Nothing alike. At all.Rightful heir to Schneiderlin's throne
Another hyped English player just Maguire, Stones, Grealish, Bissaka, Barkley etc who look great in a small team with no pressure but fail to impress when they move to big clubs. Those who show any sign of world class are inconsistent and look great for two seasons, three at the most like Sterling, Shaw, Maddison, Dele Ali etc.
In the past ten years no English player has transformed a premier league team to title contenders when bought like Van Dyke, De Bryune, Salah, Dias, Kante. If bought, people will be saying he needs a specific type of midfielder playing along side him to get the best out of him like what people say for Maguire after spending 80 million on him. He’s not worth it.
In the past ten years no English player has transformed a premier league team to title contenders when bought like Van Dyke, De Bryune, Salah, Dias, Kante. If bought, people will be saying he needs a specific type of midfielder playing along side him to get the best out of him like what people say for Maguire after spending 80 million on him. He’s not worth it.
Oh wow, I thought he had a bad match for the sudden rise in pointed finger comments. Had to go check the fixture list to double check to see if he played a game but he didn't. His last game was the win vs Liverpool.
He doesn't play like Verrati or Kimmich which is a very one type of CDM. They are deep lying playmakers and Sure if they were available for 80-100 million then even Arsenal would be trying to buy them, players like Kimmich are not even put with a number.
Rice is a different type of CDM though - his main gameplay is seen without the ball than exactly with it.
This is why some people really struggle to see what Rice is about; ultimately because they are following the ball during the match than exactly following Rice during the match and watching how he is covering the pockets of dangerous attacking areas before the attack has happened; or has turned the back 2 in to a back 3 by his own awareness and movement - allowing the rest of the team to really go and do their own thing. The guy is doing this at 22.
People's next reply to this will be - well Rice at United will have more of the ball here than at West Ham; but again he is a player that shows "defensive positional awareness" to the level for the rest of the team to really go and do their own thing. Whilst Rice is better on the ball than people say, no one is pretending him to be Scholes - it's more the protection he can give his team mate to go be the Scholes for our team, whoever that may be.
You see this with Soucek at West Ham, the guy is on the other end of the pitch most of the time when West Ham are playing teams they can show some dominate nature upon. Rice for the mean time is guarding his CB'S in the most dangerous attacking positions.
Rice is a player I believe that can help improve the performance of the players around him. Just for a pure example many people see Mctominay as a box to box player - proper up and down the pitch. Do we really get to see him play like that though? I believe Mctominay next to Rice will allow Mctominay to play his most natural game more for United. The same with alot of players be it our fullbacks/wingbacks, players like Pogba, Fred and many more including youngsters.
The guy is a protector and he does so by reading the attack before the attack has been initiated by the opposition itself. It's great to watch. Watch Rice for a match instead of the ball.
He doesn't play like Verrati or Kimmich which is a very one type of CDM. They are deep lying playmakers and Sure if they were available for 80-100 million then even Arsenal would be trying to buy them, players like Kimmich are not even put with a number.
Rice is a different type of CDM though - his main gameplay is seen without the ball than exactly with it.
This is why some people really struggle to see what Rice is about; ultimately because they are following the ball during the match than exactly following Rice during the match and watching how he is covering the pockets of dangerous attacking areas before the attack has happened; or has turned the back 2 in to a back 3 by his own awareness and movement - allowing the rest of the team to really go and do their own thing. The guy is doing this at 22.
People's next reply to this will be - well Rice at United will have more of the ball here than at West Ham; but again he is a player that shows "defensive positional awareness" to the level for the rest of the team to really go and do their own thing. Whilst Rice is better on the ball than people say, no one is pretending him to be Scholes - it's more the protection he can give his team mate to go be the Scholes for our team, whoever that may be.
You see this with Soucek at West Ham, the guy is on the other end of the pitch most of the time when West Ham are playing teams they can show some dominate nature upon. Rice for the mean time is guarding his CB'S in the most dangerous attacking positions.
Rice is a player I believe that can help improve the performance of the players around him. Just for a pure example many people see Mctominay as a box to box player - proper up and down the pitch. Do we really get to see him play like that though? I believe Mctominay next to Rice will allow Mctominay to play his most natural game more for United. The same with alot of players be it our fullbacks/wingbacks, players like Pogba, Fred and many more including youngsters.
The guy is a protector and he does so by reading the attack before the attack has been initiated by the opposition itself. It's great to watch. Watch Rice for a match instead of the ball.
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A) De Jong isn't a defensive mid
B) De Jong is more of a Barcelona type player than any other player at Barcelona. Xavi is going to make good use of him.
I'd say 2 of those 4 and we'd be looking a more cohesive team.
3. Zakaria is an internet myth pushed by people who don’t watch him. He’s not good enough
And another one in that list is a CM with some energetic tackling ability like Fred rather than a CDM that's going to be able to sit in his position and be a replacement Matic.
An improvement on Fred would be useful - but I'm not sure we can go without a replacement for Matic, a proper shielding anchorman type player.
For the prices being quoted you'd think you're buying prime Busquets, not Declan fkng Rice.
I love Kimmich but no amount of money would convince Bayern to sell Kimmich right now, let alone for £100m..
If Rice wasnt English he'd be rated higher.
Where's the same level of microscopic scrutiny, and slander on the other midfield targets?
At a risk of repeating myself
Rice ticks all the boxes.
Talented, young, has leadership qualities, prem experience, good physicality about him, potential to improve. At 22yrs old his best years are ahead of him.
Where's the same level of microscopic scrutiny, and slander on the other midfield targets?
At a risk of repeating myself
Rice ticks all the boxes.
Talented, young, has leadership qualities, prem experience, good physicality about him, potential to improve. At 22yrs old his best years are ahead of him.
If Rice wasnt English he'd be rated higher.
is nonesense
is nonesense
Who knows, he actually might be rated higher if he wasn't English.
He'd still be much less expensive though
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